Importance Of Stakeholders In An Event Launch Tourism Essay

This report discusses launching of a new tablet launched by apple. This is a brand new model of a tablet that can be used by anybody and it is also suitable and adopted for every user including children with leaning disabilities due to its customizable features. As a consultant working with the company’s event planning team for this product launch, this report will be focusing on the process of planning this event. The process of how to get the potential customers and key stakeholders persons informed and invited to the event. And most important is for the planning process to lead to achieving the company’s goals of higher sales targets and to promote the new product to the customers. To meet this, the event needs to be planned in such away that the invited guests and all potential customers gets a positive experience that promotes the image of the company and the brand being marketed.

INTRODUCTION

Event planning is the procedure of handling a project of this kind through arranging such as a conference, a convention, a trade fair, a team building activity, a hospitality gathering or an exhibition. The planning process includes drawing a realistic budget, drawing a timetable of every activity, choosing and reserving the event venues, obtaining permits where necessary and needed. Planning and making arrangements for food and drinks, harmonising transportation of people and items, designing a suitable theme planning for every activity. There is also need to chose and invite keynote speakers and promoters in good time and ensuring that the venue is well facilitated and equipped with a good public address system if planning for big audiences. Risk management needs to be accounted for while having some contingency plans in cases of eventualities. Event Planning consists of coordinating every little detail of planning from the speakers and meeting location to arranging for printed materials and advertising the event itself through chosen media.

Event planning begins with determining the objective that the sponsoring organization wants to achieve. Planners strategically choose speakers, entertainment teams and activities, content, and arrange the program to present the organization’s information in the most effective way. Meeting planners are responsible for selecting meeting venues, likely guests and how to get them to the meeting. (Institute of Event management, 2012)

According to Fill(2005), Marketing communications is a management process through which an organisation endeavours to share its product information with its various audiences. Through understanding the audience’s communications setting, organisations seek to cultivate and present messages suitable for their identified stakeholders and interest groups before evaluating and acting upon any responses. By conveying messages that are of significant value, audiences are encouraged to offer attitudinal and behavioural positive response.

This Tablet being an electronic item has a potential for a very wide market. It is likely to attract attention from various individuals and groups of people who may include students, teachers, parents of children with learning disabilities, educational institutions and just the general public.

OBJECTIVES OF AN EVENT PLANNING

Every event planning or product launch should have its goals and objectives to form the vision because without them, your event will not have any defined vision. However, an event can have one or many goals and multiple objectives supporting the goals which are necessary to the success of the event. There should be more than one purpose for an event planning, for example this event is about launching a new product by raising sales target and also promoting the brand.

The main purpose of this product launch is to put across our communication strategies either by using the push or pull strategy. The main focus strategy which will be more vital with this product is the pull strategy, by focusing more on the direct consumers than business to business consumers which is also referred to as the push strategy.

PROCESS OF PLANNING AN EVENT

One very essential stage in an event planning is to have a budget to guide your expenditure and it is also your responsibility as the event organiser to stay within the limits of your budget.

Similarly, your also need to develop a marketing strategy which includes advertisements either through the media, internet or digital media for example, social networks and focus groups. And to coordinate the communications and promotional activities for your event as the success of your event will ultimately depend on your ability to sell the event to those attending it. (Carter L., 2007)

In order to create an event to fulfil your customer’s objectives and be everything that they hope it will be, it is important to begin with their event vision. This is where you will be able to determine what is most important to them. Event visualization is after event objectives have been set out, should be your first starting point for planning the event.

For this product, apple needs to focus on the PULL strategy as this product is most likely to directly to individual consumers. So a good part of the advertising budget for this event should be committed to digital marketing such as internet marketing, use of social websites like face book, tweeter and the like. Internet advertising through search engine optimisations, email marketing using their existing customers’ database, contacts and referrals would also be suitable strategies for this product.

Use of mobile marketing strategies such as text messaging, ringtones, games demonstrating the product and its new and unique features would prove a success for this kind of item. The beauty of these media is that they would even lead word of mouth since the messages are targeted at the consumers directly.

Another good strategy would be to target influential stakeholders and customers invitation to a well planned corporate launch event. In order to host an event that will fulfil your company’s objectives and yet have appositive impact to the guests, the planners need to have a clear vision. This is where you will be able to determine what is most important and prioritise the process.

Choosing a location is also a very important stage in an event planning, and it needs to be booked at a very early stage to avoid any delays or last minute disappointments. The location needs to be convenience for the visitors and there should be enough room for product display and also for visitors to have space to work around the products and demonstrate them as well. Parking should not be a problem as most of the guest will be driving to the event.

Team building is very important in an event planning process; you need good staffing and a security plan. Such a plan is the glue that holds the event together. Coordinate the efforts of your staff (paid and volunteer) and vendors with the venue contact person. Include details such as when vendors arrive, where and how they unload their equipment, where they set up, and how they manage all aspects of the event. You should also address how and when they will tear down and load up to avoid costly surprises. Effective communication on-site is critical. All staff should be fluent in how to operate your communications system (such as walkie-talkies and headsets) and how to contact those responsible for emergency support. Every event needs to address security, even if it just includes hiring an off-duty police officer, working with the hotel’s security team, it will be worth it. Having a list of emergency phone numbers handy is also helpful. (Jodi W., 2010)

Also, another essential part of such an event is to provide the guests with food and refreshments. If possible, hire a DJ to provide the visitors with music to make the environment lively and lift the spirits of the visitors. Engage your customers with conversations by contacting them face to face specially the key visitors and stakeholders. If possible equip your team members with good knowledge of the product to engage with the customers and get them to try the Tablets for themselves and not just be told about them.

You could go a further step by setting up an offer price for a promotional sale of the tablet just for this launch day. This will encourage customers and stakeholders to attend, have personal experience with the product and afterwards spread word about it. It might also get many people excited to take advantage of the promotional price and boost the sales. Such an approach is deemed likely to produce positive results. According to Duncan and Moriarty (1997), there are some communications that arise from unplanned or unintended experiences and also there are planned marketing communications.

IMPORTANCE OF STAKEHOLDERS IN AN EVENT LAUNCH

Stakeholders include, suppliers, customers, investors and the media, they are very important in an event planning because they can be affected by the event and the event also can be affected by the type of evaluation received by the stakeholders. In order to realise the success of an event, it is important to have open communication channels among all stake holders. Since events have broader impacts on a wider public, such open communications will bring more feedback to the company. It is also important to remember that stakeholders are people with vested interests in the company and its products. They are therefore potential attendees. Stake holders add value and reputation to the success of the whole event. Moreover getting the right stakeholders to your event can create the prospect of a great evaluation for the future event planning as well. You can find out what the views and thoughts of key people and important stakeholders by engaging in face to face charts with them throughout the event.(Robinson P. et al 2010).

EVENT EVALUATION PROCESS

Finally, as soon as the event is over and the guests have all gone home, while you may be eager to put your planning documents and files away and move one, right after the event is the right time to evaluate the success of your event and discuss opportunities for a better improvement in a future event planning. However, a thorough post-event evaluation ensures you will capture the important details your company’s needs to improve its fundraising. A successful evaluation is also a good start for the preparations of your next event. You can get feedbacks from your guest in different ways, either by asking them about their view about the whole event or by giving them questionnaires to fill in and hand it back before living. These feedbacks from your visitors can help you evaluate the success factor of the event.

Also it is very important to meet with the event committee and all your team members who were involved in the event process. Arrange a meeting with them and make sure you give them enough time for discussion getting their view and gather all vital information from them for an evaluation for a future event plan. Make sure you cover every important aspect of the event, being careful to note which topics hit nerves in a positive or negative way so you can keep the meeting upbeat. (greater giving, 2012)

Conclusions

In order to attract the attention of all your potential customers, planners needs to implement the best marketing strategies at their disposal and start good planning ahead of the event for success. Whether the company will choose to use the services of a marketing consultant or manage these issues on their own, it’s up to them provided the aims and objectives are kept in focus. All important aspects of the planning process need to be taken care of. These should include all the fine details of the whole process such as budgeting actions and steps to be implemented by particular individuals on the planning team. Once all these are done with success, it shouldn’t be a big problem for the company to succeed by getting the tartgetde ausdeince to its event nadn thefeor achieves their aims and objectives of the marketing process.